Homes smoulder after being hit by a shell in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

(Newser)
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A ceasefire between Ukraine and pro-Russia rebels is hanging on by a thread after a weekend of reported shelling and casualties, but the EU warns that sanctions against Russia will be put in place as early as tomorrow, reports the BBC. The Kremlin said the proposed sanctions—which may include further restrictions in Russia's financial and energy sectors, as well as visa bans and the freezing of assets of Russian leaders—would force its hand to take retaliatory measures, including closing down Russian airspace, Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev told a Russian newspaper.

As the EU moves ahead with the official paperwork to complete the sanctions process, details are emerging about specific goals: More Russian organizations, for instance, will be kept from fundraising in the EU, including three state-owned oil companies and three military production companies, and at least five state-controlled banks will have their fundraising allowances curtailed even further, reports the Wall Street Journal. EU officials say the sanctions could be removed if "there is evidence Moscow is helping forge a genuine political solution." Although the ceasefire is still technically in place, local officials say one civilian died and four were wounded over the weekend in the coastal city of Mariupol, reports Reuters; the rebels are claiming several of their own casualties, adds Bloomberg. President Petro Poroshenko is scheduled to visit Mariupol today, reports the AP.

Russia will implode if handled correctly. If we only had a real leader. Obama isn’t the one.

pearlybay

Sep 8, 2014 12:30 PM CDT

All they had to do was freeze the Oligarchs money and everything else will fall into place. This is the reason Putin started all this mess, because when he did his annexation tricks in the past, the oligarchs were unaffected. When All the corrupt money the Russian rulers hide in other countries is not tampered with, it gives Putin a green light to do what Russia does best, smash and grab.